Occidental Sells $2.15B In Debt

Occidental Petroleum, the fourth-largest U.S. oil company, sold $2.15 billion in debt in two tranches today in an offering led by Barclays, Citigroup and JPMorgan. The California-based company sold 5.5-and 10.5-year senior unsecured notes, according to sources with knowledge of the deal.

Occidental (OXY) sold $1.25 billion in five year notes. Those bonds feature a coupon of 1.75% and a yield of 1.93%. The company also sold $900 million in 10-year bonds with a coupon of 3.12% and a yield of 3.34%. Occidental's stock currently has a dividend yield of 2.2%.

Proceeds will be used for general corporate purposes, which may include funding acquisitions, repurchasing stock or paying off existing debt, according to MarketWatch. Moody's Investors Service rated the debt A2 while Standard & Poor's assigned a rating of A. Fitch also gave the debt an A rating.

Occidental last went to the debt market in December 2010 when the company sold a $2.6 billion issue. The 5.5-year piece launched with a risk premium of 95 basis points over comparable Treasurys, and the 10.5-year piece launched at 105 basis points over comparable Treasurys, Dow Jones reported.